Starving
by ncfan
Summary: They are the strongest. 100 jinchuuriki-centric drabbles and oneshots.
1. 01

**Characters/Pairings**: Utakata**  
A/N**: This is the first drabble in _Starving_. Just so you know, I don't watch the anime, so I don't know about Utakata's past or characterization from there.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Utakata knows he's starving. It doesn't take a genius to see it, even if he's always been bright for his age—_at least that's what the schoolteachers tell him, just as begrudging with their praise as they ever are_. He's starving, he's hungry, and he's starving even more fifteen minutes from now.

Actually, this isn't such an unusual position for a nine-year-old boy in Kiri to find himself in. Kiri has a higher number of orphans (_whose parents were more likely to take fatal missions_) than other shinobi villages and no orphanages—_because hidden village children are supposed to be every bit as tough as the adults_—to house them in. If they're not taken in by relatives or friends (and they rarely are), they have to fend for themselves.

The streets and alleys are haunted with fey children. All of them are bags of skin over bone like Utakata. The thing that's so unusual about Utakata is that, no matter how thin he gets, no matter how his skin stretches and pulls over his ribs, he is still possessed of a monstrous strength.

He is strong. He is strong with a noxious chakra that devours all when its roused but never sates him.

He is the strongest.

A hunk of beef flies through the rain from a butcher's shop and lands squarely in the middle of the muddy street (the streets in Kiri aren't paved). A dozen wraith-like children, their hollowed eyes dark with hunger dive for the meat but it is Utakata, grubby little hands more vicious than the rest, who claims the prize and spirits it away.

Sharp teeth tear into the beef and ravages it, barely tasting the mud or the rot.

For now, Utakata is sated.

In fifteen minutes, he'll be starving again.


	2. 02

**Characters/Pairings**: HashiMito, Madara  
**A/N**: I don't know why, but I love Mito. I have absolutely no explanation, except that maybe it's that she's a near-absolute blank slate and that means I get to play with her. A _lot_.  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Mito has always been strong, always steadfast in the face of whatever hardship may confront her. She has never known any other way, for she is taught none in Uzushiogakure and she is expected to learn no other way than sheer, overwhelming strength.

What she is used to is the hardship of learning new seals and signing new contracts (_each one seems to require more and more blood from her, as if the contractors are getting more and more greedy and see her as an easy target_), studying the kanji, using the special ink and expending chakra in practice, smiling to see the results of her work before passing out on the ground.

What she is used to is swinging strokes with kunai or wakizashi or taking a few senbon and seeing how they fly. If they hit their target, good enough; if they don't, she had best move fast, or she'll be dead.

What Uzumaki Mito is used to is the expenditure of genjutsu. No one told her it would be easy and she does not expect it to be. Genjutsu is an even more fickle monster than sealing; if she does it wrong, she may sleep for days with no method sufficient to rouse her.

What Mito is not used to is the fire and the agony of locking a bijuu within her flesh.

It is a split-second decision, one Mito will regret for the rest of her life. She watches her husband battle and lose against the Uchiha and his monster, and she remembers her seals, the immaculate lines, the firm kanji, her own determination to always be right and always be strong.

She steps forward.

A bijuu was never meant to be encased inside of a human. Especially not a bijuu such as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Mito burns, she screams, and all the while she manages to keep a look of consummate indifference to her agony, to the fact that a monster is tearing her skin apart from the inside out and remaking it in Its image—_even if there is no difference in her appearance in the eyes of anyone else, Mito can never look at herself afterwards without seeing something ugly, something dirty. Her fingernails still seem like delicate shells to the outside world but Mito sees curved claws in their place._

Afterwards, in what should have been the safety of their small home, when the one who has caused all this misery has come and gone, Mito, cursing the folly and the disgrace of her weakness, drops to her knees by the man who is her husband, who is on his back and incapable of rising.

The wakizashi clatters to the floor like a metal waterfall.

Hashirama reaches for Mito's normal—_clawedclawedclawed, that's all she sees now_—hand to encase in his own, and smiles weakly up at her.

"Well Mito, do you think we've the last of him?"

Uzumaki Mito, white-lipped and trying not to scream, can only shake her head _No_.


	3. 03

**Characters/Pairings**: Kushina, Naruto, Minato**  
A/N**: The more I think about it, the more I really, _really_ want to slap Minato. It tends to bleed through into my works surrounding the sealing of the Kyuubi into Naruto. Also, this is a bit AU.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Minato spells it out and Kushina, Kushina just wants to kill him. All love vanishes in a second, though it still remains in vestiges on her face. No tenderness towards her fiancé, no warm thoughts. She just wants to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze until he can't breathe anymore.

_You don't understand. You bastard; you never had to carry that fox in yourself so how can you possibly understand what that burden is like? You don't have a clue. You were never hated for something beyond your control; you never had to live every day of your life terrified someone might find out, and what would happen then?_

_How can you value the village over the life of your own son?_

What Minato has, Kushina supposes that she does not is a near-obsessive love for Konoha. She wasn't born in Konoha, and she wasn't brought to the village of her own free will; having been a victim of the Machiavellian in scope machinations of the village elders, Kushina harbors little love for the village itself. If the Kyuubi were to raze it to the ground the only tears she would shed would be over the few friends she has back in the village itself.

And Minato's love for his village blinds him to just how damnably _cruel_ Konoha can be to those who exist outside the norms. Kushina doesn't have that problem; she can see it plainly.

Eventually, maybe soon or maybe not until later, it will be discovered that Naruto is a jinchuuriki. Kushina knows that he will be hated, knows that he will be ostracized and treated as a pariah by most for the entirety of his life (Unless take a turn for the better, which they likely won't; _nothing_ ever changes in Konoha).

Kushina knows it, and Minato has to know it too.

And he's still going to go through with it.

Kushina doesn't think she's ever hated anyone quite so much as the desperately smiling man sitting opposite her, edging the crying baby away from her as he just continues to smile, his face pallid and even a little twisted.

If she had the strength, she would kill him. If she had the strength, she would take Naruto and run, run as far away as she could in the event that what she did to Minato _didn't_ kill him. If she had the strength, she would stop him.

But Kushina doesn't have the strength.

She's going to die. The vitality of the Uzumaki has spared (if it can be termed that) Kushina a quick death, but no one survives the unsealing of a tailed beast, no one.

Kushina won't be there to protect Naruto. She simply doesn't have the strength.

(_The only thing she can be grateful for is that in the course of action Minato is taking, he will die too. Kushina can see it now: He would have been a horrible father._

_She's glad Minato's going to get himself killed. Better him then the boy he's already consigning to Hell._

_He would have been _such_ a horrible father, if his behavior now is anything to go on._)


	4. 04

**Characters/Pairings**: Yugito**  
Author's Note**: Not much to say here, except it's a short one.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Yugito figures out early on that the mechanics of death and being brought back from it, if only temporarily, is probably something that she should keep to herself. Her knowledge on these matters is extensive—_from experience_—but Yugito says nothing, is wise beyond her years, is mute after the years for muteness has past.

And she keeps her secrets.

As a result, it's probably the _worst_-kept secret in Kumogakure that Nii Yugito has her own secrets.

But the best-kept secret of all is that no one knows what these secrets are.

No one knows that Yugito can see a dead bird on a path and bring it back to life with a touch. No one knows who she scouts out after the dusk has fallen over a mountainous village in the clouds.

No one knows what her thin, faintly sinister smirk of a smile signifies.

And no one really wants to.


	5. 05

**Characters/Pairings**: Gaara**  
A/N**: Another short one. I think a lot of them are going to be short.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_What a lovely moon…_

Being incapable of sleep, Gaara is more or less a nocturnal creature. Yes, he is awake and active during the day, but he shuns the brightest rays of the sun, going off to God knows where to wait in the shadows no man can touch until the sun has sunk behind the horizon.

_Creature of the night, they all know better than to seek to trouble you._

Sunagakure blinded by sunlight is the domain of the Yondaime Kazekage and his ilk. Mundane men and shinobi rule this land, and the rule of law prevails.

Sunagakure cloaked by night is the realm of Gaara and the invisible voice that calls to him when the moon is full. This is the land of the forgotten child.

No, not the forgotten child.

This is the land of the child everyone wants to forget, but can't.

_And when they hear the feral cries, both fearsome and lonely, echoing across rooftops and rocks, they all know better than to venture forth at night._


	6. 06

**Characters/Pairings**: Naruto**  
A/N**: This is set pre-manga, by the way, so if you're wondering why Naruto doesn't know he's a jinchuuriki, that's why.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

I was born into ruin.

I was born into ruin, and I know it's true.

The Kyuubi attacked Konoha the night I was born. When I asked the old man he told me that my Dad died fighting it off and my Mom had died giving birth to me.

She died, so I could have life, and my Dad died so I could see another day of it.

It doesn't matter that they're dead as much as it would with others, I guess; I never really knew 'em. What bothers me more than anything else is that I don't _know_ them. There are two blanks where my parents ought to be, and no matter how much I ask around no one will tell me who they were.

I was born into ruin, and I still live in it too. Don't try to tell me different; I know what's real and what's the truth.

You all look at me like I'm some sort of… _thing_. I've heard the ladies in the market calling me that often enough, whispering behind their hands. Well what's it to you? What's the matter, chicken? If you think I'm a "_thing_" why won't you call me that to my face? I deserve that much at least, don't I?

Whatever. I've figured you guys out, anyway. All I've gotta do is _look_ at you and you shut up.

It's always a weird look that gets you. I feel kinda sick when I do it; can you blame me? I stare straight at you and I narrow my eyes, and you clam up real quick.

You look at me like I'm someone you've half-forgotten. You look at me like I'm someone you knew once, someone dead you knew, and I really don't know why.

At least you're not calling me "_thing_".


	7. 07

**Characters/Pairings**: Mito, Aito (first jinchuuriki host of the Shukaku), hinted one-sided Aito x Kiyoshi**  
A/N**: Behold, the first chapter that _isn't_ depressing in some way. Also, for those of you familiar with my oneshot _Sand and Blood_, Aito and Kiyoshi shouldn't be strange names to you. They're both OCs, at least Kiyoshi is; while it's made clear that there were two jinchuuriki of the Shukaku before Gaara, their identities are never revealed. Finally, I went to FREELANG for the Japanese translation of "general" in a military sense and I came up with "daishou"; please correct me if I'm wrong.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Mito sighs and wonders, again, why it had been necessary for her to insist that she accompany Hashirama in talks with the civilization and ninja nation that sprung out of the dessert to the south of Hi no Kuni some twenty years earlier. She wonders and in an instance she remembers. _Yes, I remember now_. She had insisted on going with her husband because she wanted to be _sure_ that he would be alright, wanted to be sure that if Madara showed up pulling some sort of mischief they would both be ready.

She begins to regret this now. Mito is used to a cool climate; Uzu no Kuni is a warm place during any season but it's not known for blazing heat. Even if she is constantly sheltered by an elaborate system of tents and white and tan canvas awnings, she is miserable in this dry, blinding heat. Her fan is out constantly, waving at her neck and face, and Mito constantly wishes she had brought lighter-weight clothing than her admittedly thin silk kimonos.

_Why did I ever think coming here was a good idea_? From deep within its cage, the Kyuubi agrees with her; it doesn't like the desert heat any more than she does. And what's more…

_**The Shukaku and Its brat are here.**_

Yes, Mito knows. She's seen a boy, no older than nine or so, with sickly pale skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes with the pupils all but gone and deep circles from lack of sleep around his eyes. He ghosts through the tents like a living ghost; the Kazekage apparently refuses to go anywhere without him for fear that someone will try to abduct the child and take their strongest weapon from them. Mito is aware of this boy's status as a jinchuuriki; however, she is not sure if the same goes for him—she's never caught the boy's name.

Now, Mito is searching through the tents for the small, dark-haired kunoichi (she's not sure but she suspects this woman may be the Kazekage's wife) she met earlier, who registered her discomfort and offered to teach her a Wind jutsu that would help to keep the heat off of her. Mito had refused on the basis of her Elemental Affinity being Water and her grasp of Wind jutsus being shaky at best, but now she's seriously reconsidering the kunoichi's offer. If she could only find her…

That's when she feels a small hand tug on the skirt of her kimono. Mito immediately whirls around, all thoughts that this is a supposedly safe place forgotten and instead speeding towards the tanto hidden up her sleeve.

The boy that has haunted the tents for a week now stares up at her with pupil-less eyes.

From the moment turquoise blue eyes meet brown ones the child averts his gaze, pale cheeks tingeing red. "Sorry," he mutters. "I thought you were Kiyoshi. You both look the same from the back."

Mito assumes that the Shukaku's host is referring to one of the Kazekage's generals, a young kunoichi named Kiyoshi, and she can see how the child might mistake them if he only saw Mito from behind. They are both tall, red-haired women who tend to dress in white. However, there are differences. Kiyoshi wears her red curls loose, falling to the middle of her back; her eyes are piercing emerald green and her otherwise pale skin is heavily freckled from long exposure to the unforgiving desert sun. Her white kimono is a linen yukata of much simpler cloth and make than Mito's rich silk clothes; its obi and trim are dark blue while Mito's wider obi is made of gold cloth. And Kiyoshi holds herself differently from Mito; just as straight-backed and bold, but warier.

Mito smiles slightly, and the boy's blush grows darker. "I'm sorry, child; I don't know where Kiyoshi-daishou is."

The Shukaku's jinchuuriki nods stoutly to hide his obvious disappointment (_there's something there; Mito can tell_), and his seriousness is such that Mito restrains a wider smile. "Forgive me for bothering you, Konoha-san." He bows and turns to leave.

"Wait a moment, child." The boy stiffens, and Mito puts a hand on his shoulder. "Would you mind terribly if I asked your name?"

He shakes his head. "No, ma'am. My name is Kyouji Aito." Again, those brown eyes without pupils stare up at Mito's pale face. "What's your name?"

The kunoichi nods to him. "I am called Uzumaki Mito. I am the Hokage's wife."

Aito returns to ducking his head, cheeks red. "Umm, sorry Uzumaki-sama, I didn't recognize you."

"Never mind that. Aito-chan, I could use your assistance." His head snaps upwards; from the look of surprise Mito can tell. "I have been looking for a certain kunoichi for a while now; the only problem is that I don't know her name."

Aito nods vigorously. "You must mean Kinuyo-sama. Apart from Kiyoshi and yourself she's the only kunoichi here. Follow me." He gestures with one hand and walks down the sandy path, plainly knowing where he's going.

Out of view of the child and—though he doesn't know it—fellow jinchuuriki, Mito smiles.


	8. 08

**Characters/Pairings**: Kirabi, Yugito**  
A/N**: I often wonder how these two interacted, considering their differing personalities.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"You took your skin off to fight. That ain't cool and that ain't bright."

"I did not," Yugito maintains stubbornly, and Kirabi sighs. She's being obtuse on purpose; she knows _exactly _what Kirabi means by that and she knows he's not being literal.

_God, girl, I hate it when you get like this._

He drops the rhyming. It's the only way to get Yugito, only twelve and as cynical as any old soldier, to take him seriously. "Yugito. While I'll admit that Iwa nin are no joke, it wasn't necessary to unleash the Nibi on them."

The look Yugito gives him is inscrutable and unbearably veiled. Her pupils have contracted almost entirely and leave only seas of pale silver blue cut in half by black slits. "Kirabi-san, I do not see what the problem is." Now she's back to normal; a cool, unreadable mockery of a human being. "I was threatened, and I responded. As the mission mandated, I have killed the offending nin."

Kirabi sighs again. Yugito, having come away from using the Nibi completely unscathed, steps primly over dewy grass to retrieve one of her standard-issue kunai from a tree. Her long hair swings behind her.

This is one of the days he's _so_ glad Ē and his and Ē's father weren't willing to do to him what was done to Yugito. Kirabi just doesn't like the idea that he could have ended up like this girl, even if she is the perfect weapon.

She likes the fighting a little too much.


End file.
